Nitrogen Prices Rise Due to Fertilizer Crisis in The Us
- 03-Jun-2022 6:28 PM
- Journalist: Nicholas Seifield
The United States of America is facing a shortage of fertilizers which will likely drive-up food commodities' prices and reduce crop yield rates globally. This fertilizer shortage situation pressurizes and leads to a rise in the prices of Nitrogen in the American market. The demand for Nitrogen-based fertilizer rises owing to the country's plans to cultivate crops like wheat and soybean to reduce their dependency on imports from the East European countries. The US imports a great deal of edible oil, corn, and wheat from Ukraine. Due to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, America suffers shortages of these products and aims to curb its import dependency.
Russia was the highest exporter of nitrogen-based fertilizers in 2021. America has decided to boycott all Russian originating products and imports to show their condemnation against Russia for Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. The country's manufacturing sector isn't strong enough to manufacture enough fertilizer required by US farmers. The fact that they are trying to boost the production of spring crops (wheat and soybean) and the sowing season for all spring crops builds up the pressure. It abets the increasing price trend of Nitrogen in the American market. Farmers are trying to reduce the usage of nitrogen-based fertilizer due to a shortage of the same, but this might affect the quality of the crops. Due to this shortage of fertilizers, the price and demand for Nitrogen in the American market are skyrocketing.
As per Chemanalyst, the price of Nitrogen in the American market will continue to increase till the sowing season for Spring crops, and the price is likely to stabilize after the sowing season. However, the chances of decreasing the price of Nitrogen during 2022 are improbable owing to the ban on Russian imports and America's relatively more minor fertilizer manufacturing capacity.